1952 NCAA basketball tournament

The 1952 NCAA basketball tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 14th annual edition of the tournament began on March 21, 1952, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle. A total of 20 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

1952 NCAA basketball tournament

Season	1951–52
Teams	16
Finals site	Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington
Champions	Kansas Jayhawks (1st title, 2nd title game, 2nd Final Four)
Runner-up	St. John's Redmen (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Illinois Fighting Illini (3rd Final Four) Santa Clara Broncos (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Phog Allen (1st title)
MOP	Clyde Lovellette (Kansas)
Attendance	115,712
Top scorer	Clyde Lovellette (Kansas) (141 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1951 1953»

Kansas, coached by Phog Allen, won the national title with an 80–63 victory in the final game over St. John's, coached by Frank McGuire. Clyde Lovellette of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This tournament was the first to have a true "Final Four" format, with the winners at four regional sites advancing to the final site—although the four regionals did not receive distinct names until the 1956 tournament. It was also the first to have regional television coverage.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1952 tournament:

Regionals

March 21 and 22

East-1 Regional, Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)

East-2 Regional, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois (Hosts: Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University)

West-1 Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

West-2 Regional, Oregon State Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University)

Final Four

March 25 and 26

Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)

Teams

Region	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	Dayton	Tom Blackburn	Independent	Regional third place	Princeton	W 77–61
East	Duquesne	Dudey Moore	Independent	Elite Eight	Illinois	L 74–68
East	Illinois	Harry Combes	Big Ten	Third Place	Santa Clara	W 67–64
East	Kentucky	Adolph Rupp	Southeastern	Elite Eight	St. John's	L 64–57
East	NC State	Everett Case	Southern	Regional third place	Penn State	W 69–60
East	Penn State	Elmer Gross	Independent	Regional Fourth Place	NC State	L 69–60
East	Princeton	Franklin Cappon	Ivy League	Regional Fourth Place	Dayton	L 77–61
East	St. John's	Frank McGuire	Metro NY	Runner-up	Kansas	L 80–63
West
West	Kansas	Phog Allen	Big 7	Champion	St. John's	W 80–63
West	New Mexico A&M	George McCarty	Border	Regional Fourth Place	TCU	L 61–44
West	Oklahoma City	Doyle Parrack	Independent	Regional third place	UCLA	W 55–53
West	Santa Clara	Bob Feerick	Independent	Fourth Place	Illinois	L 67–64
West	Saint Louis	Eddie Hickey	Missouri Valley	Elite Eight	Kansas	L 74–55
West	TCU	Buster Brannon	Southwest	Regional third place	New Mexico A&M	W 61–44
West	UCLA	John Wooden	Pacific Coast	Regional Fourth Place	Oklahoma City	L 55–53
West	Wyoming	Everett Shelton	Mountain States	Elite Eight	Santa Clara	L 56–53

Bracket

	First round					Quarter-finals					National Semifinals					National Final
	Kentucky		82
	Penn State		54
						Kentucky		57
						St John's		64
	St. John's		60
	NC State		49
											St John's		61
	EAST REGION
											Illinois		59
	Illinois		80
	Dayton		61
						Illinois		74
						Duquesne		68
	Duquesne		60
	Princeton		49
																St. John's		63
																Kansas		80
	Kansas		68
	TCU		64
						Kansas		74
						Saint Louis		55
	Saint Louis		62
	New Mexico A&M		53
											Kansas		74
	WEST REGION
											Santa Clara		55
	Santa Clara		68
	UCLA		59
						Santa Clara		56
						Wyoming		53
	Wyoming		54
	Oklahoma City		48

National Third Place Game

	National Third Place
	Illinois		67
	Santa Clara		64

Regional third place games

	East-1 Regional third place
	NC State		69
	Penn State		60

	East-2 Regional third place
	Dayton		77
	Princeton		61

	West-1 Regional third place
	TCU		61
	New Mexico A&M		44

	West-2 Regional third place
	Oklahoma City		55
	UCLA		53

Source:

See also

• 1952 National Invitation Tournament
• 1952 NAIA Basketball Tournament